[Advisors] How do you teach digital literacy -- CIRA forum
Marita Moll
mmoll at ca.inter.net
Sun, 03 Mar 2013 09:02:45 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------070307070600000403050602
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Yes, I know him. He is on the CIRA board and is based in Vancouver. He
is also one of the people behind the current push to set up ISOC.
Thanks for your response. Terrific points. I will craft something on
behalf of the group -- I'd like to be able to say the response is from a
community of people, not just me.
I see Garth and James have both making the arguement for community
ownership of broadband. Great going. Let's make sure they keep hearing
from us.
CIRA. My voice
http://cif.cira.ca/
Marita
On 3/2/2013 9:09 PM, James Van Leeuwen wrote:
> Sorry Marita,
>
> I thought those were your comments on the CIRA forum.
>
> Do you know Kerry Brown?
>
> James
>
>
>
> On 2013-03-02, at 6:48 PM, James Van Leeuwen <jvl@ventus.ca
> <mailto:jvl@ventus.ca>> wrote:
>
>> Marita,
>>
>> that's a great question.
>>
>>
>> We all know that nobody can teach us anything if we aren't interested
>> to learn.
>>
>> Which is to say, we teach ourselves.
>>
>> What you are describing is */mentoring/*, which is exactly the
>> direction I think this discussion needs to go.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the space of half a day, my eight year-old daughter has become
>> more competent in the mechanics of PowerPoint than I have become in
>> over twenty years of using this tool (it has been around since 1990).
>>
>> Indeed, I am now learning some of the finer nuances of PowerPoint
>> from my daughter, because she has a distinctly different aesthetic
>> and technique from my own.
>>
>> I have never gone in for the 'bells and whistles' features of
>> PowerPoint, as I have always regarded them to be distractions from
>> the content of my presentations.
>>
>> My daughter has now provided me with a solid example of how, in a
>> particular context, a particular visual effect can enhance the impact
>> of an image.
>>
>> It helped her to make a point more effectively, even if she wasn't
>> consciously aware of the point she was trying to make.
>>
>> She could only tell me that "It fits", and she was dead right.
>>
>>
>>
>> As I was learning new technique from her (which she was eager to help
>> with), I was mentoring her in the art of effective communication.
>>
>> What is your point, who are you trying to make it to, and WHY?
>>
>> Once she has properly answered these questions for herself, she can
>> better shape the WHAT and HOW of her presentation for effectiveness
>> and efficiency.
>>
>>
>> All of this learning has taken place in relation to *her* interest in
>> developing a PowerPoint story about her own life, which she is
>> interested to share with family and friends.
>>
>> Her interest in PowerPoint was piqued last night as she watched me
>> working on one of my own presentations, a copy of which I have
>> attached in PDF format.
>>
>> She recognized the relevance and power of the tool to one of her
>> imperative interests, which is to know how she matters to others.
>>
>> By inviting family and friends to watch and listen to her
>> presentation (she's adding audio just now), she will be developing a
>> better sense of /how/ she matters to us, and /how much/ she matters
>> to us.
>>
>> There is nothing more important to a child, and this points directly
>> to the most essential value of ICTs.
>>
>> They can help us all to live more happy and fulfilling lives, by
>> helping us to to better understand ourselves, each other and our world.
>>
>>
>>
>> Developing digital literacy is really just learning how to use a new
>> set of tools.
>>
>> We should approach this important task the same way we have
>> approached development of mastery and skill with other tools.
>>
>> I am talking of course about the master-apprentice relationship, more
>> generally described as the mentor-learner relationship.
>>
>> A good master/mentor helps an apprentice/learner to draw out (educe)
>> their talent and develop their abilities, including mastering the use
>> of their tools.
>>
>> They also help the apprentice/learner to understand the _value_ of
>> their tools, which directly addresses your point about distinguishing
>> between communication that is helpful and communication that is
>> useless or harmful (critical thinking, as you put it).
>>
>> ICTs now provide us with the ability to learn just about anything we
>> want to learn, and to communicate just about anything we want to
>> communicate.
>>
>> Perhaps the most important role of the mentor is to foster better
>> practice.
>>
>>
>>
>> The master/mentor also seeks to help talented apprentice/learners
>> develop discipline in relation to their craft, and to develop
>> stronger commitment to their craft (stay focused, be authentic, be
>> patient, keep trying).
>>
>> In return, the master/mentor gets to learn new tricks and techniques
>> from the talented apprentice/learner as they develop.
>>
>> They also get the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping to
>> fulfill the potential of talented people, while advancing the
>> pragmatic and aesthetic value of their craft.
>>
>> I.e., they get to take greater pride in their work.
>>
>>
>> In the process of implementing this tried, trusted and timeless model
>> of learning (or any other model for that matter), I agree that we
>> should strive to avoid using terms like */digital literacy/* or any
>> other language that is irrelevant or mystifying.
>>
>> The vast majority of us would not care to point out that we drive a
>> car with a gasoline-powered motor, a diesel-powered motor, or an
>> electric-powered motored.
>>
>> We just drive our cars, and what is most important to us is what they
>> enable us to do.
>>
>>
>> Speaking of cars (you know where this is going), I submit once gain
>> for everyone's thoughtful consideration my discussion paper for the
>> concept of an eCitizen Club.
>>
>> Building on the talents and interests of local youth, and hopefully a
>> few supportive sponsors, I am planning to implement a pilot
>> initiative around this concept in the year ahead.
>>
>> I plan to collaborate with our local library and (former) CAP site,
>> which continues to build the suite of communication tools and
>> services that it makes available to the community at large.
>>
>>
>> This brings me to another point that I think is timely to make.
>>
>> I no longer see a clear distinction between a CAP site and a library.
>>
>> Both are places where people go to access communications and
>> communication tools, and (sometimes) to access mentors.
>>
>> Perhaps we need a new name for libraries and CAP sites, which more
>> accurately reflects their evolving and expanding role(s) in advancing
>> the communication and learning capacities of the communities they serve.
>>
>> I believe we are witnessing the emergence of a new generation of
>> community institution, which deserve proper attention from a design
>> and development standpoint.
>>
>> Exactly what purpose do we want this institution to serve, and how?
>>
>> How will it need to function in relation to traditional institutions
>> like schools, colleges and universities?
>>
>> I find this a very exciting topic to discuss, because I believe this
>> new institution will enable communities to rebuild their natural or
>> organic role in /contextual/ learning and communication, a role they
>> played before the emergence of industrialized education systems.
>>
>> Enough on that topic for now.
>>
>>
>> In summary...
>>
>> The ICT Revolution has put into the hands of lay people a powerful
>> set of tools that were previously the domain of a small group of
>> elites with highly specialized knowledge and skills.
>>
>> We are now confronted with the challenge of putting these tools to
>> full and constructive use, on vast new frontiers of opportunity where
>> guides and mentors are still few and far between.
>>
>> I see this challenge of developing 'digital literacy' as entirely an
>> issue of developing mentoring capacity, and I am wondering aloud if
>> there is a more appropriate role in the world for an organization
>> like TC.
>>
>> JvL
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2013-03-02, at 3:23 PM, Marita Moll <mmoll@ca.inter.net
>> <mailto:mmoll@ca.inter.net>> wrote:
>>
>>> So here is the posting on that CIRA site under digital literacy.
>>> This (TC) is the community where the experts are. What have we got
>>> to say in response?
>>>
>>> How do you teach digital literacy? There was a lot of talk at the
>>> CIF about teaching digital literacy to children. It seems to me the
>>> question isn't so much about digital literacy as it is critical
>>> thinking. The Internet amplifies by orders of magnitude the number
>>> of voices we hear. We need to teach children how to distinguish the
>>> facts, then determine the truth as it applies to them, rather than
>>> some nebulous buzz word like digital literacy.
>>>
>>> Marita
>>>
>>> On 2/28/2013 4:34 PM, Garth Graham wrote:
>>>> Following from CIRA CIF 2013, CIRA has opened an ongoing online forum called myVoice at:
>>>>
>>>> http://cif.cira.ca
>>>>
>>>> GG_______________________________________________
>>>> Advisors mailing list
>>>> Advisors@tc.ca
>>>> http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors
>>>>
>>
>
--------------070307070600000403050602
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff">
Yes, I know him. He is on the CIRA board and is based in Vancouver.
He is also one of the people behind the current push to set up ISOC.<br>
<br>
Thanks for your response. Terrific points. I will craft something on
behalf of the group -- I'd like to be able to say the response is from
a community of people, not just me. <br>
<br>
I see Garth and James have both making the arguement for community
ownership of broadband. Great going. Let's make sure they keep
hearing from us.<br>
<br>
CIRA. My voice<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://cif.cira.ca/">http://cif.cira.ca/</a><br>
<br>
Marita<br>
<br>
On 3/2/2013 9:09 PM, James Van Leeuwen wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:A81F939F-4F05-43EF-AF8A-AE0CB03B74A0@ventus.ca"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
Sorry Marita,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I thought those were your comments on the CIRA forum.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Do you know Kerry Brown?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>James</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<div>On 2013-03-02, at 6:48 PM, James Van Leeuwen <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:jvl@ventus.ca">jvl@ventus.ca</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word;">
<div>Marita, </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>that's a great question.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We all know that nobody can teach us anything if we aren't
interested to learn.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Which is to say, we teach ourselves.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>What you are describing is <b><i>mentoring</i></b>, which is
exactly the direction I think this discussion needs to go.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In the space of half a day, my eight year-old daughter has
become more competent in the mechanics of PowerPoint than I have become
in over twenty years of using this tool (it has been around since 1990).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Indeed, I am now learning some of the finer nuances of
PowerPoint from my daughter, because she has a distinctly different
aesthetic and technique from my own.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I have never gone in for the 'bells and whistles' features of
PowerPoint, as I have always regarded them to be distractions from the
content of my presentations.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>My daughter has now provided me with a solid example of how,
in a particular context, a particular visual effect can enhance the
impact of an image. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>It helped her to make a point more effectively, even if she
wasn't consciously aware of the point she was trying to make. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>She could only tell me that "It fits", and she was dead right.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As I was learning new technique from her (which she was eager
to help with), I was mentoring her in the art of effective
communication.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>What is your point, who are you trying to make it to, and WHY?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Once she has properly answered these questions for herself,
she can better shape the WHAT and HOW of her presentation for
effectiveness and efficiency.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>All of this learning has taken place in relation to <b>her</b> interest
in developing a PowerPoint story about her own life, which she is
interested to share with family and friends.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Her interest in PowerPoint was piqued last night as she
watched me working on one of my own presentations, a copy of which I
have attached in PDF format. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>She recognized the relevance and power of the tool to one of
her imperative interests, which is to know how she matters to others.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>By inviting family and friends to watch and listen to her
presentation (she's adding audio just now), she will be developing a
better sense of <i>how</i> she matters to us, and <i>how much</i> she
matters to us.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>There is nothing more important to a child, and this points
directly to the most essential value of ICTs. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>They can help us all to live more happy and fulfilling lives,
by helping us to to better understand ourselves, each other and our
world. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Developing digital literacy is really just learning how to use
a new set of tools. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We should approach this important task the same way we have
approached development of mastery and skill with other tools.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I am talking of course about the master-apprentice
relationship, more generally described as the mentor-learner
relationship. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>A good master/mentor helps an apprentice/learner to draw out
(educe) their talent and develop their abilities, including mastering
the use of their tools. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>They also help the apprentice/learner to understand the <u>value</u>
of their tools, which directly addresses your point about
distinguishing between communication that is helpful and communication
that is useless or harmful (critical thinking, as you put it). </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>ICTs now provide us with the ability to learn just about
anything we want to learn, and to communicate just about anything we
want to communicate. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Perhaps the most important role of the mentor is to foster
better practice.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The master/mentor also seeks to help talented
apprentice/learners develop discipline in relation to their craft, and
to develop stronger commitment to their craft (stay focused, be
authentic, be patient, keep trying). </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In return, the master/mentor gets to learn new tricks and
techniques from the talented apprentice/learner as they develop.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>They also get the satisfaction of knowing that they are
helping to fulfill the potential of talented people, while advancing
the pragmatic and aesthetic value of their craft. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I.e., they get to take greater pride in their work.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In the process of implementing this tried, trusted and
timeless model of learning (or any other model for that matter), I
agree that we should strive to avoid using terms like <b><i>digital
literacy</i></b> or any other language that is irrelevant or
mystifying. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The vast majority of us would not care to point out that we
drive a car with a gasoline-powered motor, a diesel-powered motor, or
an electric-powered motored. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We just drive our cars, and what is most important to us is
what they enable us to do.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Speaking of cars (you know where this is going), I submit once
gain for everyone's thoughtful consideration my discussion paper for
the concept of an eCitizen Club.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Building on the talents and interests of local youth, and
hopefully a few supportive sponsors, I am planning to implement a pilot
initiative around this concept in the year ahead. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I plan to collaborate with our local library and (former) CAP
site, which continues to build the suite of communication tools and
services that it makes available to the community at large. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>This brings me to another point that I think is timely to
make. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I no longer see a clear distinction between a CAP site and a
library.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Both are places where people go to access communications and
communication tools, and (sometimes) to access mentors.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Perhaps we need a new name for libraries and CAP sites, which
more accurately reflects their evolving and expanding role(s) in
advancing the communication and learning capacities of the communities
they serve. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I believe we are witnessing the emergence of a new generation
of community institution, which deserve proper attention from a design
and development standpoint. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Exactly what purpose do we want this institution to serve, and
how?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>How will it need to function in relation to traditional
institutions like schools, colleges and universities?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I find this a very exciting topic to discuss, because I
believe this new institution will enable communities to rebuild their
natural or organic role in <i>contextual</i> learning and
communication, a role they played before the emergence of
industrialized education systems. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Enough on that topic for now. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In summary... </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The ICT Revolution has put into the hands of lay people a
powerful set of tools that were previously the domain of a small group
of elites with highly specialized knowledge and skills.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We are now confronted with the challenge of putting these
tools to full and constructive use, on vast new frontiers of
opportunity where guides and mentors are still few and far between. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I see this challenge of developing 'digital literacy' as
entirely an issue of developing mentoring capacity, and I am wondering
aloud if there is a more appropriate role in the world for an
organization like TC.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>JvL</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<div>On 2013-03-02, at 3:23 PM, Marita Moll <<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:mmoll@ca.inter.net">mmoll@ca.inter.net</a>>
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff">
So here is the posting on that CIRA site under digital literacy. This
(TC) is the community where the experts are. What have we got to say
in response?<br>
<br>
<span
style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: proxima_nova_rgregular,helvetica,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 25.5938px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); display: inline ! important; float: none;">How
do
you teach digital literacy? There was a lot of talk at the CIF about
teaching digital literacy to children. It seems to me the question
isn't so much about digital literacy as it is critical thinking. The
Internet amplifies by orders of magnitude the number of voices we hear.
We need to teach children how to distinguish the facts, then determine
the truth as it applies to them, rather than some nebulous buzz word
like digital literacy.</span><br>
<br>
Marita<br>
<br>
On 2/28/2013 4:34 PM, Garth Graham wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:C56F89E6-2812-4E37-A28F-9BAB2B3EBF46@telus.net" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Following from CIRA CIF 2013, CIRA has opened an ongoing online forum called myVoice at:
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://cif.cira.ca/">http://cif.cira.ca</a>
GG_______________________________________________
Advisors mailing list
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:Advisors@tc.ca">Advisors@tc.ca</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors">http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/advisors</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>
--------------070307070600000403050602--